This book was adorable and hilarious. It definitely was an insta-love story. Told in rotating POVs from Lucky and Jack who meet and spend 24 hours hiding from the public and finding themselves with secrets, emotions, self discovery all in 1 day.

I enjoyed the portrayal and expectation of KPOP Star Lucky and how the pressure had created anxiety. I enjoyed the healthy resolution to dealing with anxiety. This was positively dealt with and is a hard topic in some cultures. Definitely a book I will be sharing with my students.

Thanks to Netgalley and Farrar, Straus, & Giroux for the advance Kindle copy of this 5.7.19 release. All opinions are my own.
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⭐️⭐️⭐️💫/5 for this breezy romance. When Lucky, a K-pop sensation, sneaks out of her hotel room while on tour in Hong Kong, she finds herself super lost. Jack, a tabloid photographer, spots her and comes to her rescue. The next day, they spend the entire day together, she trying not to reveal who she is and he trying not to let on that he already knows. Part cringeworthy, part cute - teens will enjoy it. Recommended for grades 7+.

There are very few YA contemporary authors that are an automatic must read for me. Maurene Goo is one of them. Her stories are fun, fresh, and follow classic rom-com storytelling. Her first two novels, I Believe in a Thing Called Love and The Way You Make Me Feel, feature endearing Korean American characters, sweet love stories, and plenty of laughs. I highly recommend you give them a try.

Goo’s upcoming Somewhere Only We Know is a K-pop inspired retelling of the classic film Roman Holiday. It follows Lucky, a K-pop star burned out from her hectic life, as she roams the streets of Hong Kong in search of a hamburger. Jack Lim is a part time paparazzo looking for his next big story. A chance encounter on a bus between Lucky and Jack leads to a whirlwind adventure through Hong Kong. As the two teens get closer, they are forced to consider what they truly want out of life and whether they are brave enough to go after it.

Goo has a talent for writing lovable main characters that are fleshed out and layered. Lucky is confident, goofy, and feisty, but is discontent with her successful life. Jack is sweet, considerate, and an all-around good guy, but is unsure of what he wants his life to be. Their flirty banter is interspersed with meaningful discussions about who they are and their life. Some of my favorite scenes are when Lucky and Jack have honest and deep conversations about self-doubt, fear of disappointing loved ones, and finding their place between two cultures. Their bond is built on this shared understanding and the chemistry is just an added bonus. The dual perspective narration is flawlessly done.

I really loved the setting of Hong Kong! Goo paints a lively, vibrant picture of this bustling city that we get to experience right along with Lucky. Her wonder and excitement at finally getting to the tour city jumps off the page. We get a glimpse of the night life, music scene, and are treated to many savory meals. The novel is peppered with lots of sumptuous descriptions of food that will leave you craving Korean food!

Somewhere Only We Know goes beyond telling a love story between two Korean American teens. At its heart, it is about discovering your passion and believing your dream is worth pursuing. It’s about being brave enough to embrace your true self and doing what makes you happy. This is a beautiful and important message for readers.

Final thoughts: With plenty of heart, humor, and irresistible charm, Somewhere Only We Know is the K-pop Roman Holiday we didn’t know we needed.

Thank you to Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for sending us an e-ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This review will be published on April 21, 2019 on Pop-Culturalist.

I had really enjoyed Maurene’s previous book and after reading this synopsis, I was eager to get into it.

I liked Lucky and Jack well enough. They’re both good people struggling with what they want to do and in a random occurrence, find a spark. The banter between them was cute and there were definitely some sweet moments. There are a few other characters, but they were all shadows as the real story is Lucky and Jack.

Plot wise, it was okay. It’s fast moving, the setting changes often, and the food descriptions made me hungry. The scenery felt cardboard-y and didn’t help to conjure anything while I was reading. And while I enjoyed the way the day unfolded, I never quite saw the fall into love aspect.

Overall, I’m not sure how I’m feeling about this story. I loved the ending and wanted more from it, but I could have easily set the book down and not finished.

**Huge thanks to Farrar, Straus, and Giroux for providing the arc free of charge**

I'm starting to think suspended belief is needed with Maurene Goo's books. This is cute, but absolutely too convenient of a plot and ending.

Lucky is a K-pop superstar who is tired of the extreme lock-down her management has her on: diet, sing and dance, chaste and without scandal day after day. Until one night when her stomach gets the better of her and she ditches her security guard to find a hamburger in Hong Kong. Jack is a Korean-American expat in Hong Kong who loves photography and hates banking. To supplement his banking internship income, he moonlights as a paparazzi photographer. But when "Fern" stumbles into his life, can he really take secret photos of a girl who is just trying to find a hamburger... and a way to relish life and singing again... and whom he starts developing feelings for?

Maurene Goo has once again written a fun, #ownvoices rom-com complete with butterflies, an exploration of teen love, and the exploration of the future and expectations. Personally, I prefer Goo's two previous books since they focus more on the "everyday" teens (there aren't that many K-pop superstars or expat teens living in Hong Kong), but for those teens who want a splash of the glamor, this will be right up their alley.

While the book was nice and it was great to read a rom-com type book with Asian leads, it was a book that I had read many times before and didn't really provide a new or fresh prospective. I also found the parts from the male's prospective not that entertaining to read.

Lucky is a huge K-Pop star who has just finished a 15-city tour and is looking to break into the Western Market with an appearance on a US late night talk show. She should be thrilled about all the opportunities coming her way, but lately she has found that the joy has been missing from performing and she's not sure how to get it back. After a late concert, she sneaks away from her security to find a hamburger...but she's really looking for a change and for a way to reclaim her life. That's when she meets Jack, a cynical bank intern/photographer with whom she feels an instant connection which could mostly be because he doesn't seem to know who she is. Together they explore Hong Kong as tourists: her pretending she's not an international superstar, and him pretending he's totally clueless despite surreptitiously sneaking photos of her with his phone for a sleazy tabloid. When Lucky discovers his deception, can she overlook it in the face of her growing feelings for him? And will his night with Lucky lead Jack to paparazzi fame...or to an entirely different dream he'd never dared to pursue?

If you only look at the surface of the main characters, the miserable pop star and the sly, charming tabloid photographer, this seems like just a fluffy story of the two teens traipsing around a city together and sightseeing. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, but this book is more than I was expecting. Lucky and Jack actually discuss their ambitions and dreams at length, and they thoughtfully dissect topics like whether it's ok to be selfish sometimes to get the life you want. This is kind of deep stuff for YA! I was pleasantly surprised at how much REAL was in this story that, at first glance, seems almost entirely superficial. It kind of reminded me of Before Sunrise. the Ethan Hawke/Julie Delpy movie where they wander around Paris talking all night. They're attracted to each other, sure, but they get to know each other by sharing their thoughts on philosophy, education, spirituality, and what kind of people they want to be. (I have read that this is also a takeoff on Roman Holiday, but I never saw that movie!)

More than anything, though, this book is a love letter to the city of Hong Kong: the sights, the smells, the food, the mix of the past and the future, the diverse mix of people, and the electricity that runs through everything. I haven't been to Hong Kong since I was a child, but I found the descriptions fascinating and all the different cuisines Lucky and Jack try over the course of the day made me super hungry!

It's wonderful to read Contemporary YA with an entirely Asian cast of characters, SET in Asia. I enjoyed reading Maurene Goo's last 2 books, but this one is her best yet. I can't wait to see where she goes from here

**Thank you NetGalley, Macmillan Children's Publishing Group and Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) for the fun read! **

This is another great book by Maurene Goo. A K-pop star finds herself in peril and is rescued by a tabloid photographer. The overall message of being true to yourself and doing the right thing is fabulous. I enjoyed reading this clean read, diverse book about a topic (k-pop) that I am not familiar with. I highly recommend this book and suggest you enjoy some great Asian food while reading it - you will get hungry the food descriptions are amazing!

Lucky is the biggest K-pop star in Asia. Jack is an aspiring photographer unsure where his life is going. When the two accidentally meet and spend an adventurous day together in Hong Kong, both of their lives will be changed forever.

I really liked this contemporary, diverse retelling of Roman Holiday. Lucky and Jack were likable and relatable. This could have been just another sweet and cheesy romance, but the characters discuss topics and feelings that every teen can relate to giving it more depth and meaning. Maurene Goo's books get better with each one, so this has definitely been her best one yet. A great YA romance, but with diverse characters and set outside of the US. A must read for any contemporary YA reader.

** I received an e-ARC from Netgalley.**

Thank you, Maurene Goo, for putting this HUGE smile on my face! Somewhere Only We Know was an absolute delight. I had previously read articles calling this "a modern-day Roman Holiday", and I must admit, Goo did a fantastic job capturing the essence of the original story, while making it modern and meaningful for the YA audience.

Lucky was a K-pop princess, and her days were filled with work, work, and more work. At the end of her tour, she escaped her security detail, and ventured out to enjoy Hong Kong on her own. Certain events bring her into the path of Jack, who happened to be moonlighting as a tabloid photographer. In an effort to get a big Lucky scoop, he offered to show her around Hong Kong, but the more time they spent together, the more their feelings became intertwined. This question if Lucky and Jack could make this feeling last for more than a night.

I instantly fell in love with Lucky, and became fiercely protective of her. She was so sweet and genuine, and I empathized with the battle she was fighting within herself. She loved having the opportunity to be a singing sensation, but she longed for more normalcy and autonomy. It was easy to see how much this one day of freedom meant, and I wanted more of that work-life balance for her.

Though I liked Jack, in general, it took me a looooong time to trust him. His motives were not pure, and his deception was something that could have ruined Lucky. It was good to see he had a conscience, and was able to see beyond the famous veneer and recognize Lucky as an actual person.

The two of them together made my heart soar. I adored their interactions, and as they grew closer and closer to one another, my heart beat faster and faster. Some may condemn this as instalove, but I DON'T CARE! It was fun. It was sweet. It was adorable and charming. It made me happy. I loved the way each of them could really "see" one another, and they were supportive and encouraging. They were a perfect coupling, and I wanted their adventure to last forever.

I had the best time frolicking in Hong Kong with these two. First of all, we ate A LOT. Goo incorporated so much food into their 24-hour adventure, and I was totally jealous...and hungry. I also loved that she brought us to so many different points of interest. I love when an author utilizes the setting of their book, and Goo practically made Hong Kong another character in this story. It was a wonderful backdrop for this whirlwind romance, and it just ratcheted up my desire to visit there someday.

But, a BIG reason for this grin on my face was that ending! My smile grew wider and wider with each sentence, and it was perfection for me. It also had me yearning for a sequel, but you know, that's me reacting to how much I loved both Lucky and Jack, and I just want more of their story.

Somewhere Only We Know was so many things. It was a love story, but it was also a story of finding oneself and their purpose, and taking the action necessary to make their wants come to fruition. This book surpassed my expectations, and obviously left me drying my happy tears.

I really enjoyed this. I think the dual POV worked really well here, and I found both Jack and Lucky/Cat to be intriguing and complex characters. I did like Jack more, mostly because even in her own narration, Lucky sometimes feels like she's playing a role (which I suspect is intentional). At the same time, that also made her extremely sympathetic (to me), and I found myself rooting for both of them throughout.

Jack's deception didn't bother me, either, and I thought his own guilt/discomfort over it was enough to keep him from becoming the villain. My favorite part was the epilogue, and I liked Cat the most there. I thought it showed quite well how much she's grown since their day together.

One of my favorite parts of the book were the little insights we get into Korean culture (especially Korean-American culture). Along with that, I loved the foreign setting and getting to see Hong Kong through Jack's and Cat's eyes. It was a great read, and it's solidified Maurene Goo as a favorite YA author.

Maurene Goo delivers another well-paced, readable romantic adventure that still provides some insight. Topics including the good life, the merits of college, and self-advocacy are thoughtfully treated without talking down to the target audience or weighing down the comedy. Retelling Roman Holiday in modern-day Hong Kong is a refreshing tribute to the classic movie.

This book was a quick and easy read which I was expecting from a YA title. It is not the normal book that I would pick up as I am not usually drawn to these types of unrealistic one day romance books. It was definitely a few good book. I enjoyed the book, but went with three stars as I felt it was predictable and that the back and forth was a bit choppy with the really short chapters. Thank you to MacMillian Children’s Publishing Group and NetGalley for an advanced copy to review.

I received an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely adored this book! It was so cute and such a clever adaptation of Roman Holiday, which just so happens to be one of my favorite movies of all time. The setting made the book more unique and having an Own Voices point of view in an Asian city helps to increase awareness of the culture, which is still a bit of an enigma to me.

Much like Roman Holiday, you have a princess and a journalist. This time, however, it's a kpop princess and the journalist is actually a tabloid photographer. The premise is much the same, not wholly original, but the setting is what made up for any unoriginality for me. My favorite parts of Roman Holiday were always the parts that showcased the city of Rome. There's not a whole lot of Hong Kong that is showcased in the book, but the parts that were had to have been my favorites in the entire book.

The romance is a little rushed and insta-lovey which is absolutely not my favorite, but I did appreciate the representation of the Asians in this book. As a Korean American, I struggle to relate to other Korean characters who are not part of a stereotype. Like The Sun Is Also a Star, this book takes place within a short timeframe, but unlike that book, I did not feel offended by the representation of the Asian characters. These characters were not fully fleshed out and were a little flat, but though they were influenced by their Asian culture, they were not restricted to offensive Asian stereotypes which made the characters far more relatable to me.

Overall, it was a solid 3 star read for me. It was extremely adorable, but unoriginal and subsequently, a little forgettable.

<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36992163-somewhere-only-we-know" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img border="0" alt="Somewhere Only We Know" src="https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1542156624m/36992163.jpg" /></a><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36992163-somewhere-only-we-know">Somewhere Only We Know</a> by <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6549377.Maurene_Goo">Maurene Goo</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2777001680">3 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
I received an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.<br /><br />I absolutely adored this book! It was so cute and such a clever adaptation of Roman Holiday, which just so happens to be one of my favorite movies of all time. The setting made the book more unique and having an Own Voices point of view in an Asian city helps to increase awareness of the culture, which is still a bit of an enigma to me. <br /><br />Much like Roman Holiday, you have a princess and a journalist. This time, however, it's a kpop princess and the journalist is actually a tabloid photographer. The premise is much the same, not wholly original, but the setting is what made up for any unoriginality for me. My favorite parts of Roman Holiday were always the parts that showcased the city of Rome. There's not a whole lot of Hong Kong that is showcased in the book, but the parts that were had to have been my favorites in the entire book.<br /><br />The romance is a little rushed and insta-lovey which is absolutely not my favorite, but I did appreciate the representation of the Asians in this book. As a Korean American, I struggle to relate to other Korean characters who are not part of a stereotype. Like The Sun Is Also a Star, this book takes place within a short timeframe, but unlike that book, I did not feel offended by the representation of the Asian characters. These characters were not fully fleshed out and were a little flat, but though they were influenced by their Asian culture, they were not restricted to offensive Asian stereotypes which made the characters far more relatable to me.<br /><br />Overall, it was a solid 3 star read for me. It was extremely adorable, but unoriginal and subsequently, a little forgettable.

I am not the audience for this book. I wanted to love it, but the writing style and storyline make it difficult for me to be able to fall into this story. I could see teen girls truly loving the whimsy and glamour of this story but it is not for me.

Maurene Goo is a goddess and I will read anything and everything she writes, to include grocery lists and instructions on how to boil water.

After years of hard work and training, Lucky has it all. A K-Pop star with thousands of adoring fans, a #1 song on the charts, just finished an epic tour of Asia, and she is about to make her American debut. But she also has no free time, a strict diet, an even stricter label company, and a secret diagnosis of anxiety. What she really wants right now is a hamburger.

Jack has; a gap year that is slowly creeping towards an end, a crappy apartment, a love of photography, no idea what he wants to do with his future, and hatred to his job as a bank intern. Thus the side hustle as a paparazzi photographer. He has no delusions of making it big or famous, but he just wants to be happy with whatever he does. Even if it does feel completely selfish.

When Jack finds Lucky outside her Hong Kong hotel, neither of them have any idea what a roller coaster ride the next twenty-four hours are going to be.

Full of fun, food, and fluff, 'Somewhere Only We Know' is an unforgettable adventure that will delight K-Pop fans, lovers of Rom-Coms, and everyone who has a dream.

I liked this fun rom-com centered around two Korean-American teens who are each seeking different things, Lucky is seeking for an escape and Jack is seeking the courage to pursue what he's truly passionate about. Unlike a lot of whirlwind romance books, I was pleased to see that Lucky feels genuinely concerned about her safety at points and it's not a case of insta-love as is often the case. I felt it needed a bit more of Hong Kong's personality,however.

Macmillan Children's Publishing Group,

Unfortunately I cannot seem to get into this novel. I read around 20 percent before deciding to not finish this book. I was very interested in the premise of this story but I cannot seem to enjoy the characters based on what I have read so far. I decided to read a few early reviews to see if my interest would grow but based on what I have read and researched, I believe this story is going in a direction that I am just not interested. I think a lot of other readers will enjoy this story but at this time I am not interested to continue this novel. Thank you for providing me with a copy of the book. I will not be reviewing this book due to my choice to not finish during this time.

Kind regards,

Brittney

Basically exactly what it says on the tin: a fun K-pop romcom, a mix of Before Sunrise, Never Been Kissed (or How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. Or Sleepless in Seattle. Heck, A Christmas Prince. There are a LOT of reporting-based romcoms) with some vivid Asian travel (and food!) scenery. It's not exactly top-notch writing (and there were some times that the back and forth perspectives switched too quickly to feel meaningful), I wish Jack had had to grovel a little more at the end, and I wondered at the way the only negative fan portrayals were older male fans even when young and/or female fans did the majority of the mobbing and evading security, but if you're looking for a light teen romance, this one is plenty of fun.